Category: disability

Black members pass motions on disability and cost of living crisis

There are an estimated 185,000 Black members in UNISON, the majority of whom work in health and local government services, and the union has declared 2023 as the Year of Black Workers.

During the morning session, chaired by Kebba Manneh – the chair of the national Black members committee – conference passed motions on young Black members and mental health at work, and on Black members feeling undervalued and like they don’t belong.

A key motion was unanimously passed on Black workers and non-apparent impairments.

Introduced by Tansaim Hussain-Gul of the union’s national disabled members committee, the motion called on the national Black members’ committee to emphasise the rights of Black disabled workers with non-apparent and fluctuating impairments.

Ms Hussain-Gul said: “As we all know, employers judge you by the way you look. If you don’t have a walking stick, wheelchair or other aids, then you don’t look disabled. I am disabled, but I don’t look it. Only if you had x-ray vision could you see my body crumbling inside and the immense pain I’m in.

“Disability is not just physical. It is mental and invisible. Black people disproportionately experience impairments like lupus, diabetes and sickle cell.

“As you’ve all seen, long COVID has had a disproportionate impact on us. It is imperative that our stewards are aware that long COVID means the member is a disabled person, and that person is protected under the Equality Act 2010.

“It is so important to get policies agreed with employers so there is a consistent approach, and black workers aren’t treated less favourably.”

The motion also called on the national committee to circulate UNISON’s guide to supporting members with long COVID to regional Black members’ groups.

Supporting the motion, Bertha Kanyangu from the Northern region said: “Some employers refuse to accept a worker is disabled and entitled to reasonable adjustments unless their impairment is obvious.

“Black workers with disabilities and non-apparent impairments are at an even greater disadvantage.

“Sickle cell, lupus and scleroderma are not visible, so employers question members continually on medical appointments and sickness records.

“We need this to stop, and make employers accountable. It’s important that support is given to branches, to seek and negotiate disability equality policies with employers.”

The motion was unanimously passed. 

The afternoon conference session was chaired by Rakiya Suleiman, deputy chair of the national committee.

After a rousing opening speech from writer and education campaigner Augustin John, in which he urged conference delegates to situate institutional racism between structural racism, conference passed another key motion on the impact of the cost of living crisis on Black low-paid workers. 

Introducing the motion, Daisy Mbwanda from UNISON North Cumbria/Northumberland branch told delegates: “Black members are more likely to be in low-paid, insecure work where there are too few hours, zero hours, and short notice of shift patterns.

“Low pay isn’t about struggling to make ends meet, it means physical and mental stress and ill health, affecting family life and the daily battle to put food on the table. Life without security and difficult planning for the future.

“Whilst some progress has been made to close the ethnicity pay gap, many ethnic groups still experience lower pay than white British workers.”

The motion called for increased support for low-paid Black workers at a branch level, and working with branches to ensure there is specific material aimed at Black members to promote welfare services. 

Julia Mwaluke from the national members’ committee said: “Black and ethnic minority people are more than twice as likely to be in poverty than white people.

“Since 2009, we have not seen enough progress as we move deeper into today’s cost of living crisis. Black people find themselves at particular risk of depression, anxiety and mental health issues. It’s time to take action now.”

The article Black members pass motions on disability and cost of living crisis first appeared on the UNISON National site.

EU Law Bill: Disability protections under threat

As the Retained EU Law Bill continues its journey to become law, UNISON is concerned about the devastating impact it could have on disability protections.

The Bill, described as a “bonfire of workers’ rights”, could see over 4,000 pieces of EU legislation torn out of the UK’s law books at the end of 2023 – including core workplace protections like holiday pay, maternity pay and protection for part-time workers. 

For decades, EU laws have ensured decent working standards in the UK, shielding workers from exploitation and discrimination. Alongside these laws, EU legal principles have developed over time, which UNISON has relied on to secure key landmark rulings for workers’ rights.

The Retained EU Law Bill could destroy all of these EU-derived laws, settled legal principles and case law, leaving UK workers in an employment law wasteland. 

How will the bill affect disabled workers?

UNISON is concerned this would have devastating implications for disabled workers, and workers who have caring responsibilities for a disabled person.

Whilst the UK Equality Act 2010 will remain in place, the EU legal principles that put flesh on the bones of this legislation will disappear.

UNISON has warned that this will result in:

  • Less protection for discrimination by association, ie where discrimination is because of someone else’s disability (or someone else’s protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010);
  • The meaning of “disability” in employment claims returning to an outdated, limited meaning used in non-employment Equality Act claims, where “normal day-to-day activities” is not expanded to include other activities relevant to participation in professional life.

UNISON national officer for disability equality Deirdre Costigan said: “This would be a shameful step backwards for disability equality at work. Already, many employers try to get away with disability discrimination by claiming the worker isn’t actually a disabled person. 

“If existing protections are removed, and the legal definition of what it means to have a disability is narrowed further, it will become even easier for employers to do this.”

“Lowering of protection against discrimination”

The government’s own equality impact assessment of the bill has highlighted the risk to people with protected characteristics, stating: “the EU law concepts that will be removed by the Bill underpin substantive rights in equality law.”

The equality impact assessment also describes how the removal of EU-derived laws and EU legal principles “may lead to a lowering of protection against discrimination” if specific rights related to the protected characteristics aren’t retained in any form. 

UNISON believes that this move away from European Court of Justice decisions will mean the Equality Act and its provisions are undermined. The union has outlined its concerns for disabled workers in its briefing to the government.

Since the Retained EU Law Bill was first introduced, UNISON has criticised the government for putting ideological principles before the lived, practical needs of workers. The one-year timeframe for the bill is rushed, opaque and unworkable.

Hundreds of UNISON members have shared their experiences and opinions on how important EU-derived workplace protections are.

UNISON is not alone. The government’s own regulatory policy committee has already declared the Retained EU Law Bill as ‘not fit for purpose’ and even the government lawyer who designed the concept of retained EU law has called the 2023 deadline unrealistic.

To help play your part in preventing this Brexit bonfire of workers’ protections, write to your MP today using this template. The more critical voices around the Retained EU Law Bill, the more likely we can delay and ultimately defeat it.

Write to your MP about here

The article EU Law Bill: Disability protections under threat first appeared on the UNISON National site.